Flashback Friday - Lords of Waterdeep
Love it or hate it? Do you still play it?
Lords of Waterdeep was declared the most divisive game of 2012 here on the site.
It could also have been called the most written about and discussed game. All the articles we have on it are listed towards the bottom of it's page in our directory here: Lords of Waterdeep
So what do you think? Do you love it or hate it? Do you still play it?
I guess it’s the same with the weird hatred some people have for worker placement...as if that mechanic is less descriptive or more abstract itself.
Those two things and this crazy notion that all games should generate a sweeping dramatic story that you never forget for the rest of your life are why it was so divisive, I think. Stupid “Ameritrash” dogmatism.
That said, it's a hard sell for my group, because many of them are now in the "it's a bad game" camp because it doesn't have epicycles and separate tracks for everything which can be manipulated and other such modern convolutions.
This and Stone Age can go bore each other in Middleweight Euro Limbo. I can't imagine a situation in which I'd ask to play this. Tell me about your day or your cat before you ask me to play it. This isn't some Ameritrash posturing either... I'll play Dominion or Power Grid or a number of other games (like Alchemists or Dungeon Lords in the genre) that fall into the Euro camp, but these low to middleweight ones I just don't get. Ugh.
It's the Taco Bell of board games. "The family likes it. It's predictable. It reminds me of things that I like. I probably won't get poisoned."
However, the expansion ruined it for me. I really don't know why. But I do regret the day I paid money so that I would never want to play a game again that I somewhat enjoyed. I've never had a pretty decent expansion actually ruin my enjoyment before, so it's just a weird thing for me.
Ken B. wrote: Calling it the "Taco Bell of Boardgames" is actually accurate and fair. What that statement means to you depends a great deal on your opinion of said Taco Bell, heh. For me, sometimes a quasi-meat burrito hits the spot.
I live in a small midwestern city with at least 30% Mexican population. I can get my al pastor or carne asada with onion and cilantro for a good price and have them look funny at me if I don't order in Spanish. Tres is the word for three, and Spanish for tacos is tacos.
I just don't see anyone getting excited about Lords of Waterdeep. For as many accolades and as high praise as it gets, you'd think there'd be more people out there that love the game.
I'd never drag it to the table, but I wouldn't pitch a fit it was what we were playing.
Ken B. wrote: Still like it, still have it, but I think I'd rather play Champions of Midgard these days. That may just be a phase, we'll see.
This.
ChristopherMD wrote: Still like it. It's a go-to game with a particular group when we want to play something we all know the rules to.
I'll probably be playing this tomorrow for exactly this reason. I go to a larger game group event about once a month or so, and Lords of Waterdeep is one of those, "Everyone knows it, and likes it okay" games.
I think also, it is a sociable game. It's not particularly challenging, so people can socialize while playing. If someone walks by and starts chatting with you, it's not going to break your train of thought or bother other folks at the table. And it has a tiny bit of begging and pleading, and tiny bit of screwage, which keeps everyone laughing.
However, it will never be the worker placement game I go for if I feel like playing one. Especially if you want that fantasy dressing and a better feel for fighting monsters, Champions of Midgard with both expansions is _THE_ best worker placement game, period. The base game isn’t any heavier than LoW and the expansions truly set the game into the stratosphere.
Jexik wrote: I think we're alone on this one. Best we can get on our side is, "meh, not my mug of dwarven ale."
I'm with you. I find LoW super-bland and exists at the "why play?" level of game where it feels like a boring activity. As you said earlier, not random enough to just have fun at the wacky hijinks and not skillful enough that you need to pay any attention to it.
boothwah wrote: I'd never drag it to the table, but I wouldn't pitch a fit it was what we were playing.
Hyperbole aside, I don't pitch a fit either. I just tell people, "I'm just going to watch." Then after they have been playing for a few minutes, I silently drift away to play a game at another table or read up on current events on my phone.